Rivervale-based gold explorer Greater Pacific Gold Ltd has acquired a further 20 per cent stake in private uranium and gold explorer Apogei Pty Ltd, and has been granted an option to acquire an additional 20 per cent of the company.
Rivervale-based gold explorer Greater Pacific Gold Ltd has acquired a further 20 per cent stake in private uranium and gold explorer Apogei Pty Ltd, and has been granted an option to acquire an additional 20 per cent of the company.
Apogei, which holds projects in the Northern Territory, is already 40 per cent owned by Greater Pacific, with another 20 per cent stake owned by Yellow Rock Resources - in which Greater Pacific is also a significant investor.
Greater Pacific will issue 55 million shares, worth around $1.3 million to $1.5 million, and 55 million options exercisable at 3 cents each for the initial 20 per cent acquisition.
The 20 per cent option is exercisable by the Company at any time over the next 4 months, for the issue of a further 55 million shares and 55 million options at 4 cents.
The full text of a comapny announcement is pasted below
The Company is pleased to announce that it has acquired a further 20% interest in Apogei Pty Ltd and has been granted an option to acquire an additional 20% of Apogei Pty Ltd. Prior to this acquisition the Company held 40% of Apogei Pty Ltd. Yellow Rock Resources Ltd (in which the Company is a substantial holder) holds the remaining 20% of Apogei Pty Ltd.
Apogei Pty Ltd is a private uranium and gold exploration company which owns the West Arnhem Tenure (ELA 25638 - Gumadeer, ELA 25645 - Table Hill & ELA 26076 - Mann) and McKeddies (MCN 668-671). Both areas are located in the Northern Territory.
The Gumadeer, Table Hill and Mann tenements, known as the West Arnhem Tenure (WAT) are situated within the Alligator Rivers Uranium Field (ARUF) southeast of the large uranium deposits of Ranger, Jabiluka, Koongarra and Nabarlek. This region is located approximately 250 kilometres east of Darwin and has been responsible for the majority of the uranium oxide produced in Australia.
The main focus of exploration in the West Arnhem region is the discovery of unconformity - related uranium deposits. The ARUF deposits dominate West Arnhem and any areas that could have a similar geological structure are keenly sought after.
Within the last 12 months, there has been a great deal of interest in exploration and acquisition in West Arnhem, initially from the Cameco/Uranium Equities Joint Venture, and the 5351 km2 tenements of uranium equities and more recently, the holdings of Territory Uranium Company Ltd.
Gumadeer (ELA 25638) and Table Hill (ELA 25645) were the original tenements of the WAT. They cover an area of 700 km2. Apogei Pty Ltd has recently acquired the tenement Mann (ELA 26076; area 250 km2) which is located just below the southern boundary of Table Hill and is the third tenement of the West Arnhem Tenure. This acquisition extends the total exploration area to 950 km2.
The ARUF region is approximately 30 kilometres east of Nabarlek Uranium Mine. The worked out uranium mine of Nabarlek, which produced 12,000 tonnes of uranium oxide at the high average yield of 1.95% U3O8 is close to the WAT. Geologists consider the Nabarlek area as a suitable exploration model for the WAT because of the similar geological setting and geographical proximity.
The value of the Company's additional 20% interest is also highlighted by the terms of the Joint Venture between Cameco (the world's largest uranium producer) and Uranium Equities Ltd (UEQ). To earn a 40% interest in two of Cameco's tenements located in the Alligator Rivers Uranium Field, UEQ will outlay $10,400,000 in exploration expenditure over a four year period.
The April 2007 Report to ASX from the JV was extremely encouraging and announced anomalous uranium and gold results. Significant values for U3O8 and gold were reported.
The Cameco/UEQ Joint Venture tenements, covering 1,269 km2, are sighted just below and slightly west of the WAT and share one contiguous boundary.
The WAT lies within one of the world's major uranium provinces which to date has been explored with great success. Large prospective proportions of this area remain untested by modern exploration techniques.
Alluvial Gold was first discovered at McKeddies Prospect in 1900 and over the next five years a considerable quantity of gold was extracted as nuggets or in high-yield ore dug from shallow pits.
A lack of permanent water on the site prevented further exploration until 1993 when MRC built dams and a reservoir on site to prepare for a planned drilling program to test promising surface results. However, the low price of gold made mining of the tenements at depth uneconomical.
GBS Gold has revitalised the gold industry in the Northern Territory recently by re-opening more than a dozen old mines in an area south of McKeddies. Drill testing the area to depths of more than 400 metres, they have announced an overall resource estimate of more than 3,400,000 ounces of gold. To process this resource their recently commissioned dual-mill gold processing plant is now operating at a capacity of 2.5 million tonnes of ore per year.
A comprehensive drilling program is required to prove up the resources at McKeddies suggested by earlier exploration.
The further 20% interest in Apogei Pty Ltd has been acquired in consideration for the issue of 55,000,000 fully paid ordinary shares and 55,000,000 options exercisable at 3 cents each on or before 31 May 2008.
An Appendix 3B for the issue of shares and options is enclosed with this announcement.
Pursuant to section 708A(5)(e) of the Corporations Act, the Company gives notice that the securities were issued without disclosure to investors under Part 6D.2 of the Corporations Act in reliance on section 708A(5).
The Company as at the date of this announcement has complied with:
(a) the provisions of Chapter 2M of the Corporations Act as they apply to the Company; and
(b) section 674 of the Corporations Act.
As at the date of this announcement, there is no excluded information for the purposes of section 708A(7) and (8) of the Corporations Act.
The option to acquire the remaining 20% of Apogei Pty Ltd is exercisable by the Company at any time over the next 4 months and the purchase consideration in the event of exercise is the issue of a further 55,000,000 fully paid ordinary shares and 55,000,000 options exercisable at 4 cents on or before 31 May 2011.
